Players Cut by WNBA Teams

[wire chief]

I think the 17 WNBA players marks the highest ever for UConn. Next:

Maryland- 8
Duke- 8
Tennessee- 6
South Carolina- 5
Notre Dame- 4
North Carolina- 4
LSU- 4
Stanford- 3
Baylor- 3
Texas- 1

So far and away, the cream of the crop come from Connecticut. The next best producers of WNBA talent are Maryland and Duke. I always suspected that Maryland had great natural talent, but failed to develop that talent into great teams.

If I've overlooked any prominent schools, please assist.

It puzzles me, given how consistently competitive ND has been this decade, that only 4 make it. Muffet does develop players well.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I think the 17 WNBA players marks the highest ever for UConn. Next:

Maryland- 8
Duke- 8

So far and away, the cream of the crop come from Connecticut. The next best producers of WNBA talent are Maryland and Duke.

Wow, I'm a little surprised Maryland and Duke would be next in line for most players in the WNBA. Both have recruited extremely well over the years but haven't really capitalized on it. Duke seems to be cursed with injuries to at least of of their top players each year for some reason.

If you look at the Duke alumni in the WNBA, you will notice a few things.

-- Alana Beard and Monique Currie were recruited by and coached by Gail Goestenkors (who left Duke in 2007, after the 2006-2007 season ended).
-- Chelsea Gray and Elizabeth Williams were recruited by and coached by Joanne P. McCallie (who took over the Duke program in April 2007, with her first season being 2007-2008).
-- Jasmine Thomas, Karima Christmas, and Krystal Thomas were recruited by Goestenkors and signed LOIs with Duke when Goestenkors was still the head coach. Coach G left Duke after the McDonald's All-American game that year (in which JT and KT played), Coach P was hired, and all three players honored their commitments and remained signed with Duke.
-- Lexie Brown played two seasons at Maryland for Brenda Frese before transferring to Duke, sitting out one year (per the transfer rules), and playing two seasons for Coach P.

 

[Shades]

Shouldn’t Stevens be more associated with Duke since she played there two years to UConn’s one?

 

[Jlong231]

Shouldn’t Stevens be more associated with Duke since she played there two years to UConn’s one?

I think they only pay attention to where u finish and graduate from, she graduated from UConn, which I’m sure makes her a UConn alum

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Put another way, about 11 schools account for almost half of the W. I'm not disappointed that RU is one of them, but it is interesting how many come from how few schools.

 

[Reypl21]

It puzzles me, given how consistently competitive ND has been this decade, that only 4 make it. Muffet does develop players well.

Diggins, Loyd, Achonwa, McBride... Allen, Peters, and Novacel are the only players I can think of. 2012 was the first year these ND players started going. The only top 5 players of this group were Diggins and Loyd. 2012 to now has been her recruiting successes. All four of her seniors could get drafted next year, and then there's Young.
I think ND develops their players pretty good (Cable was ranked ~50, but was a 1st team All-ACC performer her senior year). The argument would be that she develops decent players into good players, but she wasn't getting the "elite" players our of HS. McBride was rated ~20, but she was drafted #3 in her draft class.
Now Muffet is getting some high-quality recruits, so I would expect her number of players in the WNBA to increase.
Also, I expect Allen to get picked up by someone.

 

[Carnac]

Record 17 UConn alums make WNBA rosters

This is a dynamic that ALL future D-1 recruits should make note of. This IS NOT debatable. That number is a COLD HARD FACT, not fake news. Geno and his staff do an excellent job of preparing their players to compete for and win roster spots at the next level. WNBA coaches and GM's love UConn players!!!

 

[Geew1992]

This is a dynamic that ALL future D-1 recruits should make note of. That is a cold hard FACT, not fake news. WNBA coaches and GM's love UConn players!!!

Lambeir said it best. UConn players are ready

 

[JordyG]

Time to consolidate UConn players onto fewer pro teams. Then the fun will really begin.

 

[Dillon77]

Can't say Russell was not given an honest look. Led the preseason in floor minutes by far with 26 mpg. Imho, stats uninspiring.Really feel for Lindsey Allen .
I really liked and appreciated her last year an you could see her play improving as the season went on. She also seems to me to have had an excellent stat line in preseason. Very controlled player and imho perhaps the best pure PG on the team but I guess just too many guards on the roster to compete with (+ Nurse lighting it up) Hope she pulls off what happened last year and comes in mid season after being waived and really helps a team.

Second your insights and sentiment. I thought she played well in the pre-season, as well. As the only "pure" PG that I saw on the Liberty, I thought she'd have a shot, as well. but perhaps that was a numbers game. However, she got picked up after a few games last year and perhaps the same will happen this time around. As another poster said, Laimbeer likes working with players he's had before so maybe Las Vegas might be an opportunity down the road (although they have a surplus of guards, as well).

We'll see....

 

[EricLA]

Time to consolidate UConn players onto fewer pro teams. Then the fun will really begin.

If you consolidated all the UCONN players on a US National Team (or took the top 12), you'd still have the best team in the world, as well as the best team in the WNBA...

 

[Plebe]

Wow! Morgan William, the kid who sank the shot and UConn a year ago, gut cut by Las Vegas!!

I won't gloat....

Why would that be a reason to gloat. All the more embarrassing for UConn to have been unable to stop her.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Guards have to be so multidimensional in the WNBA, it's brutal. That is what gives Kia an edge.

 

[EricLA]

Guards have to be so multidimensional in the WNBA, it's brutal. That is what gives Kia an edge.

I simply don't get it. She can't create her own shot so... how will she be useful or successful???

 

[Striper69]

Dallas' roster is down to 12. Chong and Stevens made the cut.

I just looked at the final list of cuts for today. I predicted that there would be some notable names on the waiver list today, I was right.

Aces head coach "Trader Bill" Laimbeer must be a seer. He signed Shoni Schimmel this past Tuesday (May 15) after she was waived by the Liberty, and kept her. She made the cut. I like her, I'm glad she's back in the W.

I'll be watching the game tomorrow to see how Shoni does.

 

[Jlong231]

So it looks like per the sparks they ended up signing karlie Samuelson, she is available to play tomorrow

 

[Striper69]

Karlie Samuelson waived by LA. Allen, Gray, and Russell waived by the Liberty.

Russell, 6'6", top HS pick, five years at Tenn, can't make a roster? This is a tough league. Maybe another team will pick her up.

Sit courtside at a game and you will see that this is probably the elite pro basketball league in the world (including the NBA). Most of the NBA players are fat and happy with their huge salaries and couldn't care less about winning the NBA title.

Every WNBA player is out for blood every game.

 

[CBus13]

I think the 17 WNBA players marks the highest ever for UConn. Next:

Maryland- 8
Duke- 8
Tennessee- 6
South Carolina- 5
Notre Dame- 4
North Carolina- 4
LSU- 4
Stanford- 3
Baylor- 3
Texas- 1

So far and away, the cream of the crop come from Connecticut. The next best producers of WNBA talent are Maryland and Duke. I always suspected that Maryland had great natural talent, but failed to develop that talent into great teams.

If I've overlooked any prominent schools, please assist.

Ohio State currently has five. Jantel Lavendar (Sparks), Tayler Hill (Mystics), Kelsey Mitchell (Fever), Linnae Harper (Sky), Stephanie Mavunga (Fever)

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Shouldn’t Stevens be more associated with Duke since she played there two years to UConn’s one?

I think they only pay attention to where u finish and graduate from, she graduated from UConn, which I’m sure makes her a UConn alum

Stevens also sat out for one season, where she could only practice and not play. So she attended UConn for two years (even though she only played one season), and she attended Duke for two years.

And she earned her degree from UConn, which has to be the deciding factor.

 

[Carnac]

I'll be watching the game tomorrow to see how Shoni does.

She failed to impress in game #1. Zero points in 8 minutes, 1 reb, 1 to, zero ast. . We'll see how she does up to the all-star break. We don't know how long Laimbeer is giving her to blend in and become productive. Perhaps the entire season, maybe not.

 

[Shades]

She failed to impress in game #1. Zero points in 8 minutes, 1 reb, 1 to, zero ast. . We'll see how she does up to the all-star break. We don't know how long Laimbeer is giving her to blend in and become productive. Perhaps the entire season, maybe not.

A couple players have to be cut when McBride and Plum return. Louis would be one easy cut. Who would be the other one?

 

[shizam]

Louisville has 3 W players
Angel
Shoni
Myisha
Asia Taylor had 3 seasons before Myisha beat her out for a spot w Mystics
Last year L’ville had one active player all year - Asia Taylor

 

[MilfordHusky]

Louisville has 3 W players
Angel
Shoni
Myisha
Asia Taylor had 3 seasons before Myisha beat her out for a spot w Mystics
Last year L’ville had one active player all year - Asia Taylor

I saw 2 of them last night. Myisha looked like a rookie, but a rookie with staying power. She seemed confident and aggressive. When Shoni came in, I didn’t recognize her. She was taller than I expected. She also didn’t look any trimmer than I recalled, though it’s hard to compare in-person to TV. She took 3 shots, all from the arc, and missed them. She played 4 minutes overall. Lindsay Allen played 34 or so. I don’t expect Shoni to be on the roster once Mo, KMac, and Plum are playing.

 

[shizam]

I saw 2 of them last night. Myisha looked like a rookie, but a rookie with staying power. She seemed confident and aggressive. When Shoni came in, I didn’t recognize her. She was taller than I expected. She also didn’t look any trimmer than I recalled, though it’s hard to compare in-person to TV. She took 3 shots, all from the arc, and missed them. She played 4 minutes overall. Lindsay Allen played 34 or so. I don’t expect Shoni to be on the roster once Mo, KMac, and Plum are playing.

I agree w you on Shoni not sticking when those 3 return. Lambeer said she was in great shape so that surprises me you didn’t think she looked trimmer.